Aftermath
by animecrazychick
Summary: The battle is won, and Ed and Al are ready to go back to Risembol to celebrate the recovery of their bodies, but what will happen when they find out that Father left a little something, or rather someone, behind for them to deal with? Will Ed's feelings towards the homunculus change? Warning: Edvy. As in yaoi. Don't like? Guess what?
1. Chapter 1

"Is that so?" Father murmured, "Envy is dead. You will come back, my son, with all of your memories intact."

* * *

"I can't believe it's over," Al whispered, "And after all that time…"

"Yeah," Edward smiled, "We did good, little brother."

"But, what about your alchemy?" Al asked him, "You're out of a job."

"I only went into the military to get our bodies back," Ed muttered, "The job has already served its purpose."

"I guess you're right," Al consented.

"Although," Ed smirked, "Mustang would definitely want my help cleaning up this mess."

"Yeah," Al chuckled, as they both looked over the ruins of Central Command that were left after the battle with Father. Without warning, Ed began walking towards the rubble.

"Brother?"

"I want to go in there," Ed whispered, barely loud enough for Al to hear, "One last time."

Al nodded, and followed him wordlessly into what used to be the proudest building in all of Amestris. Ed led them into the depths of the destroyed building, not entirely surprised that he could still tell where he was. He paused by Mustang's former office, and stooped down to go through the papers and wood splinters left where his desk had been. He pulled out a single photograph of an elderly blonde man. He couldn't help wondering why Mustang had held on to something so personal. He flipped it over, and saw the word 'Hawkeye' scribbled on it. He flipped the image back over. When he looked at it, he could see a bit of her features in the man's face.

"That was the lieutenant's dad," Al deducted, and Edward nodded in agreement.

"It wasn't fair," Edward muttered, "What happened to him - Mustang, I mean - he didn't do anything to deserve it. If that was the science I was so dedicated to…"

"You would do something about it," Al smiled, putting a hand on his brother's shoulder, "I know you would try to improve alchemy, Brother. You wouldn't just give it up. You'll still try to change it."

Ed closed his eyes and smiled, getting to his feet. He exited Mustang's office right where the door had been, and moved down the halls, stopping where Hughes had worked, and in front of Sciezska's station. He smiled sadly at all the torn and burnt books littering the ground.

"She would cry if she saw this," he murmured.

The two brothers were forced back into the present when a blood-chilling scream pierced the air.

"Come on!" Ed yelled, already sprinting for the stairs that would lead to where the yell was coming from - the chamber where Father had resided under all of their noses for years. He bolted down the stairs, prepared for almost anything. However, he was not prepared to see someone he'd thought to be dead shrieking and writhing in pain on the floor.

Which is exactly what he saw.

Envy was the source of the scream he'd heard - and was still hearing - and he didn't need a medical degree to tell why. His arm was swollen and turning an earthy shade of green, and red sparks were surrounding his entire body. Ed kneeled down and examined the IV attached to his wrist, which was relentlessly pumping a familiar red material into his system. The red sparks were growing more abundant and brighter, which only confirmed what Al was about to say.

"The Philosopher's Stone is killing him."

Ed ungracefully ripped the needle out of his arm, and after a few moments, Envy's screams resided into small whimpers.

"Father must have left him to regenerate," Ed muttered. Envy nodded.

"And then… he didn't come back," Al finished.

"Did you…" Envy panted, trying to force his thoughts into words, "Did you win?"

Ed couldn't help but smile as he held up his right arm, sporting the flesh of his newly recovered limb. Envy nodded, and focused the rest of his energy on breathing.

"What should we do?" Al murmured.

"Help him," Ed told him, "He did kind of have a bit of a turn around before he died. I actually don't think he's all bad."

"Just mostly bad," Al muttered.

"I can still hear you," Envy panted. Ed chuckled, and attempted to get Envy up off the ground. He eventually accepted the fact that Envy could not support any of his own weight. He let several thoughts of Envy's true form run though his head, and knew if that was still the case, he wouldn't be able to carry him.

"How do we get him out of here?" Al asked, starting to favor simply leaving the homunculus to save himself.

"Large motor vehicle?" Ed suggested. Envy let out a strained chuckle.

"That won't be necessary," he coughed, "I weigh about what I look like I weigh right now."

Ed nodded, putting together several alchemical formulas in his head. He unquestioningly attempted to lift Envy off the ground, and his weight didn't seem to be a problem. However, Envy hissed air in through his teeth every time Ed touched his arm.

"God damn it…" he muttered.

"Sorry!" Ed apologized quickly, lifting Envy into his arms, and situating him so his arm was making minimal contact with anything. Envy took up panting again as they made their way quickly back into the open.

"Well what now?" Al asked, "We can't exactly take him to a hospital."

Ed nodded in agreement, "We'll just take him somewhere safe for now. If he gets worse we'll get Doctor Marcoh."

Al inclined his head once in acceptance to his brother's plan, and began to walk in the safest direction he knew: south.

They made their way secretively across the countryside, using taxis and wagons to get back home. They wrapped Envy in a cloak to hide his arm, claiming he was ill to account for his inability to stand. In fact, they were all a bit worse for wear. Ed was having some problems carrying Envy what with one of his arms having not been exercised in years, and Al grew tired very easily. When they finally stood outside a house that was extremely welcoming to Ed and Al, and a bit foreboding to Envy, they were almost at the end of their ropes. Den was as welcoming as always, knocking Al off his feet to attack his face with licks. Ed set Envy down on the grass and caught his breath. Den went over to Ed and expressed his love for him as well. After that, he moved on to Envy, and sniffed him cautiously before running his wet tongue over his face as well. Envy attempted to scramble away, and Den jumped on him, preventing him from escaping. Ed laughed.

"Down? Sit?" Envy tried.

"He's not going to do it if you say it like your not sure. You've got to be firm about it," Ed told him.

"Alright…" Envy muttered, "Get the hell off me!"

Den tilted his head in confusion before moving onto the grass next to him, tail wagging madly. Envy wiped his face on the cloak he was still wrapped in. Ed burst out laughing. All of a sudden, the festivities stopped. Ed and Al directed their attention to the blonde in the open doorway. Tears began flowing down her face as she jumped on them with just as much enthusiasm as Den had.

"Dummies. Welcome home," she sobbed, a huge smile spreading across her face.

"Thanks."

"Good to be back."

"Who's your friend?" Winry asked.

"Hi," Envy muttered, attempting again to sit up and failing miserably, "Long time no see."

"We've met?" she asked, tilting her head.

"Yeah," Envy said, falling onto his back again, "You kept me in jar for a while."

Winry considered for a moment, and finally made the connection when she looked into his violet eyes.

"Envy?" she burst.

"Damn straight," he muttered.

"Not much of a threat right now though," Al muttered.

"If she's going to help me I wouldn't hurt her if I could," Envy muttered.

"Help you?" Winry inquired, not sure she wanted to do any such thing. Envy rolled his eyes and rolled the cloak up so she could see his arm. She instantly jumped to his side, examining the damage. Envy shuddered at how loudly her eyes screamed 'amputation'.

"Ed, get him inside," she told him, not taking her eyes off Envy's arm. Ed lifted Envy off the ground again and followed Winry inside as she muttered something about 'demon science'. She gestured at the couch, where Ed put Envy down. Envy gulped as Winry walked back over.

"Tell me what happened," she muttered, being careful to look but not touch, for which Envy was thankful.

"He was left with an IV pumping the Philosopher's Stone into him for too long," Ed said simply.

"And how long was he like that?" Winry asked.

"Under twenty-four hours," Ed said.

"It was only painful for about an hour, maybe?" Envy added. Edward felt a pang of sympathy for him. It must have been scary to be left alone like that. It was - although Envy would never admit that.

"What do you know about this?" Winry asked, "Has anything like this ever happened before?"

"Yeah, I was there," Envy muttered.

"I need to know everything," Winry instructed, "Don't leave anything out."

Envy looked up at the ceiling and muttered, "I don't really think that I should…"

Ed looked at him for a moment and then questioned, "You don't think you should, or you don't want to?"

Envy looked at him before redirecting his death glare at the ceiling. Ed sighed.

"Will you tell if it's just me?" he tried. Envy gave up after a moment, and simply nodded his head. Ed nodded to Winry and Al, and they left the room, although he was sure they were eavesdropping.

"Every little detail is important," Ed reminded him, and sat down on the coffee table in front of the couch.

"Fine," Envy grumbled. Ed sat in silence, waiting for him to start. Envy rolled his eyes when he was reminded of child awaiting a bedtime story.

"Father was doing an experiment," he started, resigned to telling the whole tale, "He wanted to see what would happen if more than the proper dosage was put into the body. Normally he would measure out an amount or stop as soon as they were done. But, he just let it keep going one time, to see what would happen. The beginning was just swelling, and then color change, and then extra limbs, a tail…"

Envy trailed off, for what Ed thought was dramatic affect at first, until Envy looked away. Ed then realized he just didn't want to say the next part.

"And?" he prompted.

"And the physical appearance of the lives put into the stone," he murmured, looking at the wall. Ed's eyes widened marginally.

"It was you," he gasped.

"Tell me something new, why don't you?" Envy snapped.

"Uh, sorry," Ed muttered, "And sorry about… that…"

"Don't be. You didn't do it, apologize for all the things you're actually responsible for," Envy scoffed.

"Well then, I'm sorry Father didn't come back," Ed tried, still not sure why he was apologizing.

"He would've let it happen all over again anyway," Envy said, waving his hand in dismissal. Ed looked at the ground uncomfortably.

"That's… horrible," Ed stated, and stood up to tell Winry what he'd found out.

"I don't need your pity," Envy spat as he walked through the door.

"Thank you for listening though," he whispered.


	2. Chapter 2

Ed, Al, and Winry reentered the room after a moment, and Winry sighed heavily.

"Well," she started, "Normally, I'd say it would have to be amputated."

Envy's eyes involuntarily widened.

"But, this is alchemy. And, because of that, I don't know what to do."

Envy let out a breath. Ed sat down on the coffee table again and sighed.

"What do you think?" Envy asked.

"If there were some way to safely get the stone material out of your system, then…" Ed trailed off.

"Well how would we do that?" Envy prompted.

"I'm not sure," Ed muttered, "I mean, if nothing we try works, we can ask Marcoh to take it out professionally. But for now we can maybe try to make you just… naturally get it out of your system?"

Envy took a moment before he put all the moving pieces together.

"You're going to try and make me barf it up?" he questioned.

"Hey, whatever works, right?" Ed said desperately.

"There are other ways, but that sounds… gross…er…" Winry muttered. Envy eyed her for a moment, before he realized what she was getting at. He shuddered. He really did not want it coming out the other end.

"Puking it is," he consented.

"Lovely," Winry said, putting on a face that Envy could've sworn was just a bit sadistic.

"But maybe we could have the pipsqueak do the actual barf inducing?" Envy almost pleaded.

"That's probably for the best," Ed agreed, looking at Winry suspiciously. Winry nodded sadly, and then made for the kitchen.

"Hey, where're you going?" Envy asked.

"I promised Al I'd make him apple pie once he got his body back," Winry explained, "And I'm not about to go back on that."

With that, she disappeared into the hallway.

"I think she likes you," Envy muttered to Al.

"Huh?" Al sputtered, "Uh, really? You think so?"

"Been around long enough to tell," Envy said casually.

"How old are you?" Ed asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Four hundred years, give or take a few. I kind of stopped keeping track," Envy shrugged, but almost instantly regretted it.

"Idiot," Ed muttered. Envy growled.

"What right do you have to insult my intelligence?" Envy spat.

"The truth is a defense," Ed explained.

"As soon as I can stand up, I'm going to kick you," Envy grumbled.

"I look forward to punching you in return," Ed smirked.

Al sighed. How had the conversation gone from Winry to fighting so quickly?

"Ass," Envy shot at Ed.

"Bastard," Ed returned.

"Drink some milk," Envy told him.

"Spare some lives," Edward shot back.

"Yeah right, when you reach five foot two," Envy smirked. Ed poked him in his arm for lack of a better comeback.

"Ow!" Envy growled, "That was way too far."

"What do you want me to do?" Ed smirked, "Kiss it make it better?"

Envy blushed furiously, "Hell no shrimp!"

"Brother…" Al groaned.

"Stay out of this!" Envy spat at him, let his anger come to a boil, "I don't need help from someone who grew up as a tin can with no questions asked!"

Al looked taken aback, if not a bit hurt. Ed looked furious.

"Leave my brother out of this!" he spat, and jumped on Envy. Envy attempted to block his punches with his good arm, but Ed was aiming almost exclusively for his right arm. Al jumped on Ed and tried to pull him off of Envy. Winry appeared to inspect the cause of all the noise, and she took in the situation within a few moments.

"You idiot!" she shrieked, throwing her wrench at Edward's head.

"Ow!" Ed threw his arms up to hold his head, and Al took the opportunity to lift him off of Envy. Winry was instantly at the homunculus's side.

"Are you okay?" she questioned. Envy's eyes had grown wide and he was panting labouredly. She felt his forehead, which she was sure could've rivaled the heat of a stove.

"I'm going to get you some water," she murmured, "Al, watch him until I'm back."

She raced back out of the room, and left Ed to stare at the small and feeble form of someone who had once been so strong. He'd turned him into a panting being, fighting to simply breathe.

"Envy, I -" Ed tried, but he couldn't seem to find the right words.

"Here," Winry raced back into the room, spilling about half of the water on her way. Envy took the water gratefully, and felt his stomach seize up as soon it went down his throat. He threw up the water on the - thankfully - wooden floor. Ed gasped at the small red stones mixed with the water.

"Of course," Ed muttered.

"What is it?" Winry asked, turning to him.

"His body doesn't want the stone material in it," Ed said, "It's infecting his body because there's just so much of it. He'll expel it out as soon as he's given the chance to. All his body needs is something to help it along."

"Great," Envy panted, "Now I'm bulimic. Just wonderful."

Winry couldn't help but chuckle at that.

"I'll go get a bucket," she giggled, "You rest a while and then we'll try more water."

Envy nodded, and closed his eyes.

"Don't fall asleep now," Ed chided.

"Don't think I could anyway," Envy mumbled.

"Why not?" Ed inquired.

"You try falling asleep while your arm's trying to explode," Envy growled.

"It really hurts that bad?" Ed asked.

"It'd give you too much satisfaction to answer," Envy spat.

"You think it gives me satisfaction to see you hurt?" Edward growled.

"Why wouldn't it?" Envy challenged.

"I'd have to hate you to enjoy this," Ed told him.

"What, and you don't?" Envy rolled his eyes.

"You died at least once for every life you took," Ed sighed, "You've paid for what you did. In my eyes, right now you've got a clean slate."

Envy stared at him a moment. He thought about briefly. If he really had been handed a clean slate, what would he do with it? Splatter blood on it again? Do something for the good of mankind or some other mushy girly crap?

"Yeah, although I wouldn't say you've taken a step in the right direction. You can go either way right now," Edward voiced what Envy had been thinking, "Kind of like a baby, only grosser."

Envy eyed Ed for a moment, before he burst out laughing.

"W- what?" Ed asked.

"That - that was funny," Envy snickered. Ed laughed as well, although it was more at Envy than at his own joke.

"Who knew you thought anything other than death was funny?" Ed chuckled.

"Death's not funny, it's ironic," Envy corrected.

"I guess I can see how you would think that. We go around saying we don't want to die and living like it's not creeping up on us until it's staring us in the face," Ed muttered, looking for a new take on it, "Death, in that sense, is kind of ironic."

"And painful," Envy added. Ed ran a hand through his hair. He wanted to ask Envy what it was like to die, but he thought it would probably be an upsetting topic. If there was a heaven, he didn't think Envy went there.

"What?" Envy eyed him.

"Huh?" Ed started, being pulled from his thoughts.

"You got all serious looking," Envy commented.

"Oh, well, I sort of started thinking about… what it would be like," Ed mumbled.

"Oh," Envy looked at the ground, "Guess that's sort of my fault."

"No, I just overanalyze everything," Ed told him.

"You do, don't you?" Envy managed a smile, "Hey, if you hadn't, you wouldn't be here now, would you?"

"Guess not," Edward admitted.

Den walked over to them and nuzzled Ed's leg. Ed sat down on the coffee table again and scratched behind his ears.

"What's his name?" Envy asked, not sure if he should ask how he lost his leg.

"Den," Edward smiled, "He's been with us since we were all little kids. When he pulled through the accident, he just became that much more special."

"Accident?" Envy asked, sensing that it was safe territory.

"Car ran him over," Ed explained, "He's lucky Winry's a miracle worker."

"You are too," Envy smiled.

"Yeah," Ed agreed, "She's probably the only person I'd feel comfortable with Al being with."

"What, you don't like her?" Envy raised an eyebrow.

"No, I guess I never really had time for stuff like that," Ed shrugged.

"Never would've thought of you as innocent," Envy smirked.

"You'd be right," Ed crossed his arms, "Just because I've never done that stuff doesn't mean I'm innocent. I've committed the ultimate taboo, in case you've forgotten."

"And you still never learned your lesson," Envy smirked.

"I will hit you again," Ed frowned.

"Hey," Envy pushed Den away from the spot on floor he'd been sniffing.

"What?" Ed asked, holding Den away from it.

"I just don't think it's the best idea to feed a dog barf of a homunculus who just overdosed on philosopher's stone," Envy explained. Ed saw his logic. He held Den back while Winry cleaned it up. Ed shoved the rug over it for good measure. Den calmed down, and went over to pant on Envy.

"You're cute, even if you did drool all over me before," he smirked. He began scratching behind his ear. Den licked his partially gloved hand.

"Although I could live without the saliva on my clothes," he commented. Ed chuckled. Winry grabbed Ed by the arm and dragged him into the kitchen.

"Are you sure this is the same Envy I met up north?" she asked.

"Yeah," Ed shrugged, "He kind of pulled a one eighty on us at Central before he died, saying he wanted to be a human and wishing me luck to win."

"You're kidding," she raised an eyebrow.

"Nope," Edward said, "He even called me by name."

"Wow," she murmured, "He seems a lot nicer."

"I told him he had a clean slate as far as I was concerned," Ed told her, "I think it actually got to him."

"Well, for whatever reason, he's not acting like an asshole," she stated.

"He still called me short - a shrimp - to be precise," he smirked.

"Wow, and you didn't yell at him," Winry eyed him.

"I don't have to be personal about it anymore," he shrugged, "I got taller, so now he's just trying to push my buttons."

"Well, I still have plenty of insults for you that don't regard your height," Winry smiled.

"And I'll still through equally good ones back in your face," Ed smiled, but then turned serious, "So, tell me, when are you going to make a move with Al?"

Winry sighed, "I guess whenever the time feels right. That is, unless you think he's got the guts to make the first move?"

"Ultimate powers of psychopath claiming to be God? Sure. You? No way," Ed shook his head seriously. Winry laughed.

* * *

**Author's Note: Hello there all of you amazing human beings, or aliens, or werewolves, or whatever you may be. If you're actually enjoying this story (miracle) I would love to hear what you have to say, anywhere from fangirl squealing to constructive criticism, but keep in mind that I will cry if you hurt my feelings. Tell me how to improve, not what I'm doing wrong! Well, now that you all know I'm a complete pussy, as Germany would say, I bit you a fond farewell. And cookies. Everyone deserves to be bid cookies. Pasta!**


	3. Chapter 3

"Ow…" Envy groaned.

"It's not like we've got any better options," Ed huffed.

"Yeah, I know, I'm just tired as hell," Envy muttered.

"True," Winry sighed from the corner, "It's a shame you can't keep anything down. You must be starving."

"No shit," Envy grumbled.

"But look on the bright side!" Al smiled reassuringly, "All of the green coloration is gone. I think the swelling's even gone down a bit!"

"I think so too," Ed commented.

"Yeah, I get it," Envy mumbled.

"Then why so down, huh?" Winry asked, crossing her arms.

"Because I hate being stuck on this damned couch. I don't suppose any of you bothered to remember that I've been in the exact same place for the past three days?" Envy spat.

Ed, Al, and Winry all shared a look. If the truth be told, none of them had really thought about that. Ed glanced back over at Envy. He internally kicked himself for pitying someone who obviously didn't want it, but he couldn't shake the feeling of restlessness he would feel if put in Envy's position.

"Do you… want to sit on the porch or something?" Ed suggested. Even at the idea, Envy's eyes lit up in a way the Ed found strangely endearing. He nodded enthusiastically.

"You'd think I just gave you a 'get out of jail free' card," Ed muttered, standing up.

"I think you kind of hit the nail on the head," Envy smirked, allowing Ed to take him into his arms. Ed lifted him off the couch and made his way towards the door. Winry opened it, and Den eagerly darted outside.

"Hey -" Envy started.

"He's fine," Winry shrugged, "The worst that could happen is he lies down on your feet."

Envy chuckled. Ed moved through the door and closed it behind him with his foot. He eased Envy down onto the stairs so that his good shoulder was leaning up against the railing that surrounded the porch. Envy closed his eyes contentedly as the gentle breeze caressed his face. Ed sat down next to him and stared out over the grassy hills.

"It's pretty here," Envy commented.

"Huh?" Ed turned to him, surprised.

"It's pretty here," Envy repeated, "I like how green and peaceful it is."

Ed stared at him a moment, before turning his gaze back to calm landscape.

"There's no one fighting," Envy murmured after a moment.

"Yeah," Ed agreed, "It feels like nothing could go wrong."

"This place seems… almost untouchable," Envy sighed.

"It wasn't, though," Ed muttered, "I had a lot of bad things happen to me here. It was almost destroyed."

Envy hung his head.

"I don't think I ever considered that places like this would have to be destroyed in order to achieve our goals," Envy admitted slowly.

"You know," Ed murmured, "I don't blame the homunculi for what happened. It was all that bearded bastard pulling the strings."

"Did…" Envy stopped. He knew it had hurt him, but it would probably hurt Ed more if he talked about it.

"Did what?" Ed turned to him.

"Nothing," Envy whispered. Ed smiled weakly and placed a hand on Envy's knee. Envy turned to face him.

"What's done is done," Ed told him, "And there's nothing we can do about it at this point. If something's bothering you, I'm not going to be mad if you talk about it."

Envy stared intently at his feet and murmured, "Did you… did you cry?"

Ed stared at him.

"Did you cry… when I killed Hughes?" he whispered. Ed gazed at him for a moment and then looked away.

"No," he said, "No, I didn't cry. Winry cried, but I didn't. I was about to, though."

Envy looked up at him.

"I was pretty upset, but Gracia wouldn't let me cry. She said that if I didn't move forward and make something of myself, then his death would have been in vain. So I didn't give up. I kept moving forward, I turned into someone that I know Hughes would've been proud to call his friend."

Envy stared at him. Ed turned to meet his gaze and smiled warmly.

"You should move forward too."

Envy smiled down at his feet.

"I'm sorry."

"What?" Ed turned to him.

"I'm sorry," Envy sighed, and leaned his head back against the railing, "I just needed to tell you that. I've been a complete asshole ever since you first met me. Clean slate or not, I'm sorry."

Ed smiled warmly and laughed.

"You know, I think that's the second time I've ever heard you apologize for something," Ed chuckled.

"What was the first time?" Envy asked, a grin forming on his face as well.

"You gave away too much of your secret plans to me and Ling, and your father told you to shut up, if I remember correctly," Ed smiled.

Envy chuckled at the memory, "Hope I helped you out."

"Definitely," Ed said, giving him a mocking look. They both laughed.

"Hey, Envy?" Ed smiled, getting his laughter under control.

"Yeah?" Envy asked, turning to him.

"I forgive you."

Envy stared into Ed's eyes, reading just how genuine he was being. For some reason, it made his heart warmer.

_Scratch, scratch…_

"Hey, what -" Envy's question was answered when a rat scurried out from under the stairs.

Den barked loudly at the rodent, and began to chase it across the yard.

"Den, no!" Ed jumped to his feet, and ran after the dog. Envy sighed and let his head fall back against the railing.

"The world just loves ruining happy moments, doesn't it?" he asked of no one in particular.

"What the hell?" he heard Ed yell as the rat began clawing up his jacket. Envy watched the whole ordeal with mild interest. Ed managed to knock the rat away and it scurried off. Den growled after it but gave up pursuit.

"Did you see that?" Ed asked, walking back up the stairs.

"No, somehow I seem to have missed it," Envy rolled his eyes.

"It jumped on me!" Ed said, gesturing wildly.

"I noticed," Envy eyed him.

"That thing was huge!" Ed cried, trying to get Envy to be as worked up about it as he was. Envy chuckled at what Ed's last statement could've meant out of context.

"Hey, what - oh, gross!" Ed burst.

"You said it,' Envy chuckled.

"Yeah, but I didn't mean it like that!" he said desperately.

"Sure you didn't," Envy laughed.

"I didn't!" Ed protested.

"What the hell are you guys doing?" Winry asked, walking outside, Aunt Pinako by her side.

"Ed got molested by a rat," Envy laughed.

"Pervert!" Ed shrieked.

Winry fell to her knees as her frame was shaken by uncontrollable laughter.

"Come on!" Ed pleaded with them, "It just attacked me! Not to mention, Granny, you had a rat under your house!"

"As long as it's under it and not in it, I don't really care," she shrugged. Ed groaned in exasperation.

"Fine, if nobody cares," Ed huffed and stormed back into the house.

"Um… Ed?" Winry called after him.

"I know, I know," he said, walking back out, lifting Envy up, and carrying him back inside.

"Brother…?"

Winry continued to laugh at the confused look on Al's face.

"What just happened?" he asked, to anyone who would answer.

"Ed got violated," Winry snorted.

"What did you do?" Al asked, turning to Envy.

"Hey, it wasn't me!" Envy burst, waving his left hand defensively. Now it was Ed's turn to laugh.

"At least I'm not the only one who thinks you're a pervert," he smirked. Envy groaned and buried his face in the couch.

"Aw, he's blushing," Winry taunted.

"Am not!" Envy turned to growl at her, revealing just how untrue his statement was.

"He really was," Al snickered in his brother's ear.

"Hm," Pinako pondered, "It had never really occurred to me that you swung that way, but looking at you, it makes so much sense it's almost painful."

Everyone was silent for a moment, until three occupants of the room burst into hysterical laughter, and the other simply stared at her in horror.

"What the hell gave you that idea?" Envy burst.

"Is it really that necessary for me to state the obvious?" Pinako asked stoically. Envy buried his head again. At this point, the incident with the rat all but lost on them. As of that moment, it seemed as if the only thing that mattered was the moment they were in. And, for the time being, the moment was a happy one.

* * *

**Author's Note: Hello to all of you who have been reading this. I would like to thank you for all of the messages I'm receiving about this story, but I've noticed that no one has actually found it in their time to review. Now, I'm going to get down on my knees and beg you to pretty pretty please review because I love reviews so very much. Thank yous! Sorry, for all of you grammar Nazis out there, I'm just being incorrect for fun. I'm sorry for any typos that you may have caught, I'm not that good at looking out for those things. Goodbye, my lovely readers!**


	4. Chapter 4

"Damn it Winry, turn on the heat, would you?" Ed complained while reading a book.

"The heat_ is_ on," Winry snapped, "And if you're so high and mighty, why don't _you_ do something about it?"

"Fine, I will!" Ed yelled, slamming the book down on the coffee table.

"Could you be any louder?" Envy grumbled, fidgeting around on the couch. His arm was only a bit swollen, and the swelling was going down on it's own at that point.

"Yes," Al stated. Ed got off the end of the couch while Envy stretched out his feet. Ed stormed into the entryway and they all heard the front door open and close.

"What the hell is he doing?" Envy inquired.

"I have no idea," Winry sighed, sitting down where Ed had been, forcing Envy to curl up his legs again.

"You people have no idea what personal space means, do you?" Envy growled.

"Oh, sorry," Winry said, standing up.

The front door slammed open and closed again, and Ed came in carrying a large log and several small twigs. Envy understood his intentions now, and watched silently as Ed placed the wood in the hearth and failed to get the fire going.

"Put newspaper at the bottom," he commented after a while. Ed grumbled something incoherent but listened all the same. Once he had the fire started and a healthy crackling noise filled the house, he plopped down at the foot of the couch.

"You guys just don't want me to be able to spread out my legs, do you?" Envy asked, rolling his eyes.

"Stop complaining," Ed said, and grabbed Envy's feet and placed them in his lap. Envy looked intently at the floor in response.

"Look who's shy all of a sudden," Winry taunted, smiling.

"I'm not shy,' Envy deadpanned.

"Oh, really?"

"Really."

"Come on, you guys, I'm trying to have a quiet moment," Ed groaned, leaning his head back against the couch. Just to piss him off, Al turned on the radio.

_"The strange behavior has not been explained as of yet. Violent tendencies have been reported in several homes in the Risembol area, although it seems to be restricted to that area. Professionals say that the rats could contracted a rare mental disease -"_

"Rats?" Al asked.

"Ed, you got jumped on by that one rat a few days back, remember?" Winry asked.

"Yeah, I wonder if it -" Envy started.

"Enough of this nonsense," Pinako scolded, turning off the radio, "The rats do not have some strange mental disorder. The market has probably introduced a new pesticide that doesn't work, is all. I don't want you getting all worked up over this."

"We're not worked up, but the rat that attacked Ed was acting a little weird," Envy pointed out.

"Yeah," Ed agreed, "Not to mention I don't think I've ever seen a rat that big."

"Maybe we are getting a little too excited about this," Winry reasoned.

"Well, I don't think -"

_Scratch, scratch…_

"What was that?" Winry jumped a bit.

_Scratch, scratch…_

"It's coming from the front door," Ed said slowly, moving Envy's feet off him and standing up.

"Don't open it," Winry pleaded.

"It's probably nothing," Ed smiled, turning back to her, "And even if it is a rat, what's it going to do that I can't deal with?"

Winry just stared at him. Ed sighed and made his way towards the door. His hand hesitated momentarily on the doorknob.

_Scratch, scratch…_

He turned the handle, reassuring himself with the same reasons he'd given Winry. The porch looked empty to him. The small space of light created by the door held nothing more than the wood of the porch.

"Ed?" Envy limped up beside him.

"I don't think there's anything out here," Edward said slowly, and began to close the door. A small squeaking noise stopped him, as a rat scurried into the light.

"Ed…" Envy warned. The small rodent let out a loud screech before it jumped at Ed's leg.

"Ah!"

The rat gnashed it's teeth against the metal of Ed's only remaining automail, searching for flesh to cut through. Envy took in Ed's frozen stance, and moved to remove the rat himself. The rat turned and clamped down on the flesh between Envy's index finger and thumb.

"Ow!" he yelled, grabbing into it with his other hand, squeezing it until it stopped holding on.

"What the hell?" Ed asked, turning to look at the rat that was being squeezed to death in Envy's hand. He watched as its red eyes bulged in its last moments of life. Wait, red eyes? The rat was black.

"The bite… it's not healing…" Envy murmured.

"Did you see its eyes?" Ed asked.

"Yeah, they were red," Envy nodded, "That's weird, since it wasn't an albino."

"My thoughts exactly."

Ed's eyes narrowed as he eyed the rat. He could've sworn it seemed… familiar somehow. His eyes widened when recognition hit him like a ton of bricks. He grabbed Envy's left arm and dragged him outside into the night, and shut the door. He took in a sharp breath when he looked into the unnatural red glow Envy's eyes sported in the dark.

"God," Ed gasped, dragging Envy back inside and slamming the door.

"Winry!" Ed yelled, entering the room again.

"Was it a rat?" she asked cautiously.

"Yes," Ed deadpanned, "Winry, I have to ask you something."

"Uh, sure," she said.

"When Envy was throwing up the stones," Ed started.

"Yeah?"

"What did you do with them?"

"Oh God," Envy breathed, making the connection.

"I threw them out, why?"

"Oh God, oh God, oh God."

"So they would've ended up at the dump, right?"

"Yeah, I don't see why it matters," Winry crossed her arms.

"Matters?!" Envy burst, "Did it ever occur to you that those stones have the ability to kill everyone in this city?!"

"I don't see what harm they're doing at the dump," Winry snapped.

"Being eaten by rodents, maybe?!"

Winry stopped talking and let her brain make all the connections.

"So, the rats are sort of… becoming homunculi?" Al asked.

"Now, we have no proof that that's what's going on," Pinako said sternly.

"Not if they're eating it, no," Envy said, ignoring her, "It has to be introduced directly into the bloodstream for that to happen, disregarding that a homunculus is an artificially created human."

"Then what is happening?" Ed asked.

"This is just a guess, but it's probably changing their mental patterns, and making them get larger, as you pointed out."

"The radio said they were exhibiting violent tendencies."

"That's probably the difference in brain pattern. Sort of like rabies or mad cow disease."

"This is so creepy."

"Well, I say that if it really is the philosopher's stone, this is the military's business."

"I was in the military a month ago, Granny."

"Yes, but you aren't anymore, and don't you dare forget that."

"Yeah, but the military's a little busy right now. My quote on quote family kind of destroyed it."

"So Brother's sort of the closest thing to military we've got."

"I still don't want him trying to deal with this on his own."

"He won't be on his own," Envy said, "I'll help him, and I know Al will too."

"Yeah," Al agreed.

"I'm not about to let him take this on alone either," Winry said, going to stand by him to prove her point. Pinako made a resigned noise in her throat and walked off.

"Well, I think we just formed a damn resistance," Envy commented.

"It would appear so," Ed nodded.

"So, what now?" Winry asked awkwardly.

"We rest," Ed sighed, "I don't feel like going to a rat infested dump in the dark. I don't know about the rest of you."

"Yeah," Winry agreed.

"Good idea," Al yawned.

With that, Al and Winry both went upstairs.

"What, you're not tired?" Envy asked raising an eyebrow.

"No,' Ed mumbled, "I think I'll just stay up and wait for the fire to go out."

"Okay," Envy said, and tried to place himself in a slightly more comfortable position. Ed grabbed a pillow off the armchair and handed it to him.

"Here."

Envy gazed at him before smiling and accepting it.

"Thanks."

Envy took it and fell asleep.

* * *

_"Look at them," the voice resounded off the walls, "Look at all of them."_

_He unwillingly turned his head up to see all the faces of the humans he'd ever killed. They laughed at him, taunted him, looked down on him._

_"You don't deserve to live, you pathetic, disgusting, ugly thing!" the familiar voice of Roy Mustang echoed without a source. He felt his body being engulfed in flames._

_"William?"_

_He turned around and faced his mother._

_"Mom?" he asked._

_"You killed me," she said, "Why did you kill me?"_

_"I didn't kill you!" he yelled, "I'm sorry, Mom!"_

_"How could ever accept the apology of my murderer?!" she shrieked._

_"We will never forgive you!" the voices above him rang._

_"You're nothing but a murderer!"_

_"Disgusting!"_

_"You never will be half of what we are, scum!"_

_"Cheep imitation!"_

_"You're mother is dead," his father stated sadly, "She killed herself when she found out what you'd become."_

_"What?"_

_"She's dead!" he yelled, "She's dead because of you! You killed her!"_

_"Sick!"_

_"Disgusting!"_

_"Unwanted!"_

_"Ugly!"_

_"You don't deserve to live!"_

* * *

Envy woke with a start. He was breathing heavily.

"Envy?" Ed asked, sitting up from the chair he'd fallen asleep in.

"What?" he whispered.

"What happened?"

"Nothing," he said, composing himself again.

"You had a nightmare, didn't you?" Ed inquired.

Envy sighed, "Yeah. Like I said, nothing."

"What was it about?" he asked.

"Nothing."

"Envy?"

"What?"

"You didn't go to heaven, did you?"

Envy sighed. Ed was just too smart for his own good.

"No," he murmured, "No, I didn't."

"Envy?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry."

* * *

**Author's Note: Sorry if the ending was a bit depressing, I'm just trying to move Ed and Envy's relationship forward bit by bit. Now, how many of you saw something going on with the rats? How many of my readers can see into the future? Also, did you catch that little hint I threw in there? Go back and look for it if you're REALLY bored. It has something to do with later chapters. And, yes, this is turning into a bit of a scary story. Sorry about that. Well, no, I'm sort of not. I've never written a scary story before, and it's fun! Please tell me what you think! Review, review, that's the plan, if I can do it, anyone can!**


	5. Chapter 5

"Brother?" Al asked, shaking Ed's shoulder, "Brother, wake up."

"No, I'm sleeping," Ed groaned, burying his face in the cushion of the chair.

"Do sleeping people say that they're sleeping?" Envy smirked, "Well, maybe not people, but castrations, maybe."

"Are shrimp even in that class?" Ed asked, his face still buried in the chair.

"Wow, he must be tired," Envy commented, awed that he hadn't even tried to make a comeback.

"I grew. Doesn't bug me anymore," Ed stated.

"What?" Envy burst, terrified that his leading insults had been trashed.

"Would you quit being so loud?" Ed grumbled, sitting up.

"No," Envy said simply, "We have to go to the dump today anyway."

"Oh yeah, huh?" Ed yawned, sitting up and rubbing his eyes, "Sure you don't want to send Mustang in first? As a guinea pig, you know? To see if he gets eaten…"

"Brother!" Al snapped, "The Colonel has been like family to you."

"Yeah, like that one crazy uncle who you can't seem to avoid," Ed mumbled, causing Envy to chuckle at the comparison.

"I'd say more like a strict parent," Al amended.

"I've had two parents, and I'm not quite ready to deal with the stress of having another one," Ed snapped.

A short silence followed his comment.

"Hey, look, we were just joking around," Envy said timidly.

"Yeah, I know," Ed sighed, "Let's just go deal with the damn rats, okay?"

"I'm coming with you!" Winry yelled, running into the room.

"Like hell you are," Edward stated simply.

"But you have to let me go with you!" she pleaded.

"Brother is right, Winry," Al said, "It's too dangerous for you."

"It's not like you've got a lot of martial arts experience," Envy said, gesturing absently towards her. Winry grabbed his hand.

"Hey -"

"What happened?" she asked, eyeing the two red marks on top of his hand, and then flipping it over to see two identical marks on his palm.

"The rat from last night bit me," he stated, pulling his hand back, "Maybe my healing abilities aren't working because of my -"

Winry hit him over the head with her wrench.

"Ow!" Envy yelled, holding his head as red sparks engulfed it, "What the hell was that for?"

"Your healing abilities are working," she smirked.

"You didn't have to test it out!"

"But this pretty much proves our theory," Al pointed out.

"Yeah," Ed agreed, "Envy's philosopher's stone just cancels out the one in the rat. It's just like a normal human being bitten by a normal rat."

"Well it looks infected," Winry stated, rushing back out of the room.

"Hey, my hand's fine -"

"Just let her fix it," Ed stated, turning away, "You're already useless enough as it is."

"I'm a lot better than I was when you found me," Envy defended.

"Yeah, but I don't want you to be -"

"Here!" Winry said, rushing back into the room. She halted when saw Ed facing the wall and Envy and Al looking on with a mixture of confusion and worry.

"Did I interrupt something?"

"No," Ed stated, "Just do whatever and then we'll leave."

"So… I can come with you?" she tested.

"Yeah, fine, just hurry up."

"Uh… yes!" she seemed to come out of a trance as she went about treating Envy's hand. Winry stood back to examine her handiwork, and Envy grunted in what could only be thanks. With that, they exited the house and headed for the dump. Envy watched as Ed's ponytail bounced back and forth as he walked ahead of the group.

"Envy," Al whispered, tapping his shoulder.

"Hmm?"

"Brother isn't trying to be mean to you, you know?" Al told him, "He's just not very good at expressing himself. He gets angry and awkward around people, but that's just how he shows he cares."

"Yeah, I guess," Envy said absently, still staring at the back of Edward's head, "Say, Al?"

"Yeah?" Al asked, "What is it?"

"Do you know why Ed stopped wearing his hair in a braid? He used to do that all the time," he said.

"I never really thought about it," Al admitted, "You should ask him."

Envy turned to him, "You think?"

"Yeah," Al smiled, "You two are friends, right?"

Envy stared at Al, searching for an answer to that question. Not finding one, he walked ahead to talk to Edward like Al had suggested.

"Ed?" he asked, using the nickname that he'd adopted from hearing it so much.

"What?"

"I was just wondering," Envy started, "Why'd you stop wearing your hair in a braid?"

Ed smirked towards the sky.

"I guess what with Father causing me so much trouble and all, I just didn't have the time. It sort of became habit, I guess. Why?"

"Uh - no - no reason," Envy stuttered, swallowing.

"There it is!" Winry called, running ahead of us.

"Winry!" Ed ran after her, worried for her safety. Al and Envy followed close behind. They stopped when they were standing at the base of a pile of garbage.

"Well this smells wonderful," Envy said sarcastically.

"I noticed," Ed agreed, plugging his nose. A bird flew down and landed on the trash, and eyed them curiously with bright red eyes. Ed and Al both stepped in front of Winry protectively. The bird lifted a small red stone from the garbage in its beak and flew off.

"Al," Ed murmured, "Could you…"

"Mm," Al nodded, and clapped his hands together. He pressed them to the ground, drawing a surprising large amount of red stones before them from their respectful locations throughout the dump. With the stones, rats followed, scurrying after them as if searching out a drug they were addicted to.

"Get back," Ed whispered quickly. Envy took this as good advice, but Winry seemed frozen in her spot. A rather dirty looking rat turned it attention to her.

"Winry, move!"

"Ah!"

The rat leapt at her, but Al kicked it before it could even touch her.

"Run!"

Ed, Winry and Envy all turned to avoid being bitten, while Al stayed behind a little longer to hold them off. He transmuted a wall and then quickly followed after them. They ran until Ed judged it was safe.

"I don't think they're coming after us," he panted. They all slowed to a stop.

"Winry, are you okay?" Al asked. She placed a trembling hand over her mouth.

"My God…"

"Winry?"

"There were so many…"

"I know, but we can take of it," Ed reassured her.

"How?" she turned on him, "The only useful thing you could do is gone now!"

"Hey!" Envy growled at her.

"We can't do anything about this!"

"Winry, calm down -"

"How?!" she shrieked, and her voice suddenly dropped to a whisper, "How? We'll all die unless we leave right now…"

"We'll be fine," Ed told her, placing a hand on her shoulder. She stared up at him before she fell limply to the ground and sobbed.

"I'm sorry, I just…"

"It's okay," Ed reassured her.

"We're really staying, aren't we?" she choked out.

"We have to," Ed told her quietly.

"Ed," Envy whispered, staring over the grassy plains, "Don't move a muscle."

They all gazed in horror at what Envy had seen.

* * *

**Author's Note: Well, this took forever. I'm having the world's worst writers block on this story, just so you know. I had to sit down and force my fingers to move on the keyboard, so if it's not as good as the other chapters, I'm sorry. I have the whole plot written out, I'm just having trouble putting it into words, I guess. I wasn't all plot inspired when I wrote this chapter, so again, sorry if it isn't as good as the others. Now, onto something a lot of you probably don't give a damn about. It has been brought to my attention that seeing as I cosplay almost exclusively as Yuki from Fruits Basket, it seems a little strange that I'm using rats as my main antagonists in the fic. Well, honestly, I love rats, and I'm getting a pet one pretty soon, (and yes, I am naming it Yuki) so my opinions on rats really have nothing to do with this. I just thought they worked for this idea, and using birds has already been done, so I'm just using them as a plot device. I love rats, and Yuki is awesome, so don't think for one second I'm a rat hater. Now, please review. I'll smile if you do.**


End file.
